Modern architecture doesn’t have to be all about boxes clad in plate glass. Inaugurated last October in the Italian city of Milan, the Bosco Verticale is a experiment in eco-architecture: Two high-rise apartment blocks which incorporate live trees into every level. And now Glascow-based builder Elspeth De Montes has created the definitive LEGO version! Here it is, next to a picture of the original:
You have to check out the domed roof on this lovely building by Pete Strege. The curve of the roof is so perfectly smooth, I can’t believe it. So very, very nice. But I also really like the colors of the building and the overall architectural style. It reminds me a lot of Vista House, an observatory that my wife and I used to visit in the Columbia Gorge.
Traditional architecture with right angles and straight walls are commonplace in LEGO cities, since the brick naturally lends itself to that style. Less common are modern buildings with curving walls, but flickr user lisqr manages quite well here with the clever implementation of curved train tracks to set the structure for this wavy edifice.
The Bricks to the Past group in the UK unveiled their latest large-scale collaboration at the Great Western Brick Show (aka STEAM) a couple weeks ago, and it’s a sight to behold.
Featuring scenes from Victorian London at the time of the Industrial Revolution, the display was built by James Pegram, Jimmy Clynche, Simon Pickard, and Workshysteve
The display not only includes street scenes, great architecture, and other above-ground details, but also extensive underground detail, such as sewers, crypts, and fossils.
Check out their Flickr group and website for more photos and a walkthrough of the various builds in the display.
This pagoda built by me will be displayed at Brickcon this week. I wanted to depict a subject of Chinese architecture not often seen in Lego. The pagoda is modeled after the Big Goose Pagoda from my hometown of Xi’an, China.
Yes, there was no Friday Night Fights last night. Sorry. Hey, we’re all very busy finishing our builds for BrickCon! But instead of going on a violent rampage, just take a deep breath and soak in this temple triple gate by Hiroshi Kataoka (片岡 ひろし). Oh, and ignore the ninja. He’s hiding. You can’t see him.
And if that creation doesn’t cause a wave of tranquility to wash over you, here is another one by the same builder that should do the trick. Unless you have cherry allergies.
Danish teen Lasse Vestergård has already proved himself adept at large architectural builds with historic themes, such as the Ancient Greece diorama we featured a while ago. His most recent work also has a historic angle, but is closer to home. His home town of Roskilde, to be precise:
Lasse chose 1:100 scale for this diorama, which not only allowed him to cover the entire city center, but also enabled him to capture the distinctive architectural style of its many historic buildings. In the full set of images, Lasse even explains the history behind each individual one.
I would imagine modeling an entire town this accurately required not only a lot of build time, but also a lot of on-the-ground research. So it comes as no surprise to learn that it took Lasse 16 months to complete! Rendered using a mountain of gorgeous dark red bricks, the centerpiece is obviously Roskilde Cathedral, which like many older cathedrals was extended over the centuries and thus features many differing architectural styles.
The build was recently displayed at the Klodsfest LEGO event in Roskilde itself. One of the features I personally enjoy about this diorama – because of the scale used – are all the 2-stud-wide vehicles dotted about the landscape.
If you were a celebrity in England in the 80’s, you may very well have lived in a chintzy mock Tudor mansion, similar to the one recreated in amazing detail here by Joe Perez. And there would likely have been a supercar of some kind parked outside. Similar to the Ferrari that Joe has parked outside his version.
And being the 80’s, you would have definitely been sporting padded shoulders …Miami Vice style!
And decades later, long after the public has forgotten you, and you are reduced to making occasional appearances on game shows, you would probably get someone to build a complete replica of your entire home out of LEGO. Like someone apparently commissioned Joe to do right here!
TheBrickAvenger captures the dashing masked-outlaw, Zorro, in this diorama featuring gorgeous Spanish architecture. The angled placement of the house and the subtle use of dark orange on the roof and sand green on the ground really enhances the overall appearance.
Welcome back fight fans, to Sin City Nevada for another round of Friday Night Fights. Tonight we’re going to go straight into the details! Sometimes it’s too easy to get overwhelmed and build big and boring, the key is layer in the details while building big. Let’s go to the tale of the tape.
In the tan corner we have Nick Barrett with this lovely Georgian Town House:
(check out the full build here, with a full interior).
In the dark tan corner we have Acticis with this lovely detached house:
(Check out the full build here).
As usual, constant reader, you are tasked with deciding, by way of comment, which of these beautiful builds will win the battle. On the last edition of Friday Night Fights, Modded Model Cars, Massimiliano narrowly won 10-9 with his Classic Space Mini Cooper. Tune in next week for another action packed edition of Friday Night Fights!
As we’ve ruminated here before, microscale design is no mean feat. Capturing the essential details while keeping the scale compact takes a great deal of talent, and some of the most difficult features to achieve at any scale are brick-built domes. Rolli (Moriartus on flickr) has excelled at this with his miniature replica of the great Baroque sandstone edifice Frauenkirche in Dresden, Germany. The real church finished reconstruction in 2005 after being destroyed by bombing during WWII.
The Simpsons LEGO roundup continues from this meta LEGO Simpsons build by Matt De Lanoy.
It’s LEGO Simpson’s favorite Block retail store:
And check out the detailed inside:
You can see this, and more of Matt’s LEGO-Springfield at Brickworld: Chicago in just over a month!